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FAQ

When was the website created?

This site was created in late 2009.

Why was the site created?

I was tired of trolling to the far corners of the internet to find new stories to creep me out. Not only was there legwork, but coming back to read a particular story would often be met with disappointment after I find that the site and/or webpage no longer exists.

I posted a comment, but why isn’t it showing up?

Due to the high volume of spam posting that gets done on the site, I check once a day for new comments (every now and then I’ll check more frequently if I’m doing work on the site from home). Rest assured that if you’ve posted and it’s not to advertise something, it will get approved within 24 hours.

Some of your stories are told in the first person. Did they all happen to you?

No. Anything written by me will be preceded by [ OPTIK’S NOTE ], or it will be a news post. Everything else is told by the particular author of the work.

How can I advertise on Paranormal X?

Currently, we use Project Wonderful, which allows advertisers to buy cheap ad space using a bidding system. After registering with that link, just search for ‘Paranormal X’ and you’ll see our currently available ad spaces.

Do note that we require that your ad images are rated as work-safe, and we *will* cancel and report your bid if you try to mark your ad as work-safe when they’re actually not.

Paranormal X also reserves the right to cancel your bid if we feel it’s advertising something that is directly competitive or otherwise likely to negatively impact the site’s health. We do like to support the fan community, but not at the cost of sacrificing our own ability to keep the site afloat. If we believe that you’ve crossed the line from “extended family of the site” into “trying to replace the site” , you may find your bid cancelled with a note acknowledging this as the reason. McDonald’s wouldn’t allow Burger King to post ads on their menu, right? It’s the same concept here.

What is the paranormal?

The term paranormal is used to describe a wide variety of activity and phenomena. According to the Journal of Parapsychology (a quarterly publication devoted primarily to the original publication of experimental results and other research findings as published by the Para-psychological Association), the term paranormal describes “any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically possible according to current scientific assumptions.” The actual word is derived from the Latin use of the prefix para meaning “outside or beyond” what is considered normal.

Many people associate the term paranormal as only dealing with haunting and ghosts. However, the paranormal also includes subjects considered to be outside the scope of parapsychology including UFOs, cryptozoology, telepathy, ESP, faith healing, clairvoyance, and many other subjects.

An anomalous phenomena is an observed incident or experience for which there seems to be no agreeable scientific explanation. Because such observations do not easily fit into how many view our reality, these instances can be (and usually are) the subject of controversy.

Since paranormal phenomena is not generally accepted as real by traditional scientists, most of these ideas and theories about hard-to-reproduce anomalies are considered pseudo-scientific (not a real science), partly because science needs evidence to be reproducible in a controlled environment.

Some anomalies eventually get a scientific explanation, losing their status as unexplained phenomena. For example, while the idea of stones falling from the sky was once considered anomalous, meteorites are now acknowledged and generally well understood.

What is a Ghost ?

Ghosts are a phenomena which have several possible definitions:

The spirit or soul of a person who has died, which haunts a place which was of emotional significance to that person when living.

The personality of a person after his or her own death which is not directly tied to the soul or spirit. A type of psychic memory imprint.

The character or memory of some being or thing which has died or, if it was never alive, has been somehow destroyed or dissembled, which nevertheless remains existent (and sometimes detectable) in a semi-corporeal form.

An overlapping of parallel worlds into our own in which we can see, hear, feel, or occasionally interact with a person or thing that lives or exists in that parallel.

While some individuals accept ghosts as a reality, many others are skeptical of the existence of such. Much of the scientific community believes that ghosts, as well as other supernatural and paranormal entities, do not exist. Skeptics often explain ghost sightings with the principle of Occam’s razor which basically states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible. In short, when given two equally valid explanations for a phenomenon, one should embrace the less complicated formulation. Some examples of such would be:

Ghosts are often associated with a chilling sensation, but a natural response to fear is hair raising, which can be mistaken for a chill.

Peripheral vision is very sensitive to motion, but does not contain much color or the ability to sharply distinguish shapes. Any random motion outside the focused view can create a strong illusion of an eerie figure.

Sound waves with frequencies lower than 20 hertz are called infrasound and are normally inaudible, but British scientists Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman have concluded that infrasound can cause humans to feel a “presence” in the room, or unexplained feelings of anxiety or dread.

Psychological factors may also relate to ghost sightings. Many people exaggerate their own perceptions, either when visiting a place they believe to be haunted, or when visiting a site which they know unpleasant historical events have occurred. Certain images such as paintings and movies might “program” a person to automatically associate a certain structure or area with ghosts. Also, the psychological phenomenon of pareidolia (seeing recognizable shapes and patterns in every day objects ie: face of Mars, Rorschach inkblots) may cause people to perceive human-like faces or figures in the otherwise mundane surroundings of their environments, particularly in conditions where vision is partly obscured, as in a dark corridor or at night. Skeptics also apply this theory to EVP’s (when anomalous voices, often purported to be of supernatural origin, are reportedly heard on audio recordings.)

A ghost – or spirit or apparition – is the energy, soul or personality of a person who has died and has somehow gotten stuck between this plane of existence and the next. Most researchers believe that these spirits do not know they are dead. Very often they have died under traumatic, unusual or highly emotional circumstances. Ghosts can be perceived by the living in a number of ways: through sight (apparitions), sound (voices), smell (fragrances and odors), touch – and sometimes they can just be sensed.

What is a Haunting ?

A haunting is a kind of “recording” of a past event on an environment, such as a house, building or a battlefield. These recordings play back, over and over in a kind of loop – always the same, like a film or video. It is thought that the presence of certain people can trigger these recordings to play back. They are not ghosts capable of interacting with the living. It is not known how these recordings are made, but they are often associated with a traumatic or strongly emotional event.

What is a Poltergeist ?

“Poltergeist” is a German word meaning “noisy spirit.” Current research indicates, however, that poltergeist activity may have nothing to do with ghosts or spirits. Since the activity seems to center around an individual, it is believed that it is caused by the subconscious mind of that individual. It is, in effect, psychokinetic activity. The individual is often under emotional, psychological or physical stress (even going through puberty). Effects can include rapping on walls and floors, the physical movement of objects, effects on lights and other electric appliances – even the manifestation of physical phenomena.

What is the difference between the three ?

Despite popular belief, there are distinct differences among ghosts, haunting and poltergeists:

Ghosts are spirits of people that have been caught between this plane of existence and the next. They are intelligent beings, often capable of interacting with the living.

Haunting are recordings of an event on an event on an environment. They do not interact with the living.

Poltergeists are neither ghosts nor haunting, but are caused by the unconscious mind of a living person, usually under some kind of stress.

It is worth noting that a combination of these phenomena can occur in one place. One can effect or even trigger another, which is why a variety of such phenomena can be found in a “haunting.”

What is EVP ?

EVP – or Electronic Voice Phenomena – is a mysterious event in which human-sounding voices from an unknown source are heard on recording tape, in radio station noise and other electronic media. Most often, EVPs have been captured on audiotape. The mysterious voices are not heard at the time of recording; it is only when the tape is played back that the voices are heard. Sometimes amplification and noise filtering is required to hear the voices. Some EVP is more easily heard and understood than others. And they vary in gender (men and women), age (women and children), tone and emotion. They usually speak in single-words, phrases and short sentences. Sometimes they are just grunts, groans, growling and other vocal noises. EVP has been recorded speaking in various languages.

What is ____?

DOP

DOP – Disappearing Object Phenomenon – is a relatively common phenomenon in which an object disappears from view and later inexplicably returns. For example, a person puts their car keys on a kitchen counter, where they are always kept. When the person goes to get them, they are gone. A thorough search turns up nothing. Later, the keys are found on the counter where they were originally put (or some other obvious place. It’s difficult to document a genuine DOP occurrence because people can be careless, simply misplace things or be forgetful. But there are many compelling stories from people who are certain they looked for the object in the place that it later appears. In some cases, people audibly call out for the object to be returned – and it is. In some rare cases, the missing object has actually been seen materializing out of thin air. It is also known as the “borrower” phenomenon. It may be related to Poltergeist phenomena.

Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are rumored to exist, but for which conclusive proof is still missing. Scientists have demonstrated that some creatures of mythology, legend or local folklore were rooted in real animals or phenomena. Thus, cryptozoologists hold that people should be open to the possibility that many more such animals exist. In the early days of western exploration of the world, many native tales of unknown animals were initially dismissed as superstition by western scientists, but were later proven to have a real basis in biological fact. Cryptozoological supporters have noted that many unfamiliar animals, when first reported, were considered hoaxes, delusions, or misidentifications. The Platypus, Giant Squid, Mountain Gorilla, Grizzly-polar bear hybrid, and Komodo Dragon are a few such creatures.

Perinormal Phenomena

Perinormal phenomena is a term that has been used to describe previously unknown forces which at first appeared to be paranormal and were later verified scientifically. The name is derived from the Greek peri, meaning “in the vicinity of”. While paranormal phenomena remains scientifically questionable (“beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation”), perinormal phenomena can eventually be shown to be “skeptic-approved”.

One significant modern example of a perinormal phenomenon is electromagnetic fields (EMFs). At one time EMFs were debatable from a scientific perspective but later were proven to be real and is currently accepted by scientific and medical communities.

PLACE MEMORIES

Some haunting have an eerie resemblance to life, where apparitions are observed performing activities that are common to living people such as walking around a home or grocery store, or even working. Some people describe these haunting in several ways. The first is that the entity is simply doing something that he/she did frequently in life. The second assumes that the concept of time-space continuum is real and that sometimes two time frames overlap. The third explanation is referred to as a “place memory”, which is like a recording of a past event that has imprinted itself on the environment. These are also called residual haunting and recordings. Images and sounds are impressed upon a place and later replayed in a phenomenon that is similar to watching a loop of a movie film. And despite what you may think, these experiences are not acted out by just the departed. It is very possible to experience witnessing yourself in one of these “memories.” This is known as the doppelganger effect.

Can I submit a story?

Absolutely! Please use our Contact Us page to submit any and all queries. If you are a member of the media, you’ll also need to use the Contact Us page to submit a query. All messages go to the same mailbox and you will get a reply as soon as possible.

How often do you update the site?

I update the site as often as I can, but due to work and personal life it may not be for days or weeks. I like to pick and choose what goes up on the website so I might not come across a good story for a while and that reflects in the frequency of updates to the website.

How many people work on the site?

This is mainly a one-man-band, but I like to consider the folks that have submitted stories members of the site as well.

Will I get credit if I submit a story?

Absolutely! Those that have submitted a story have had all of their credentials sourced. If you submit a story and you’ve got your own website, or email address or book out there and would like a shout-out, just be sure to provide me that information and I’ll include it with the article you’ve submitted.

I’ve found a bug with the site, how can I report it?

Shoot me a message via the Contact Us page and describe, in detail, what you’re experiencing and how you can duplicate the issue. If you’re getting an error message, please include the error in your report. If a link or something else is broken with the site, please include as much information as you can (browser, browser version, where were you on the site when you experienced the error, etc.)

Do you have forums?

We currently do not have any forums. When the site first opened we did, however, they never got used so I went ahead and took them down. If more interest were expressed I may be inclined to implement them again. Feel free to place comments on articles though!